Drabblecast 120 - Doubleheader III

I shout wordlessly and my father begins to haul on the rope. The hands walk up my leg. Thin arm wrap around my waist. We've hooked our catch deeply. She fights the line, but my father is stronger...

Drabble - The First Swim by Richard Asbury

Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 12:57 am

by Beth Peters

That was great! I loved all of the stories, the sandwich shop being my favorite. I'm a softy for animals so this made me tear up a bit.
I was nervous throughout most of the fishermen story, pretty convinced that the father was using the boy as bait for a giant squid or shark or something. Was pleasantly surprised by the odd, surreal-but-not-really turn it took.

Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 3:30 am

by strawman

The fishing story is about birth, with the father reeling in the mother by the umbelicus, and the child would be the bait. Okay, cool/weird idea. But then it doesn't explain casting him out again. So maybe it's just weird.

But it really gets freaky if you take the fishing concept and imagine the scene and conversation between Marty and Terrence in The One That Got Away. The child could be the merbaby who makes Marty marvel "You look just...like...us".

Sometimes DC weirdness exceeds the limitations of human explicatory powers. But it does teach us to reach for the sitars.

Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 4:28 pm

by CLP

q

Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 4:41 pm

by Mr. Tweedy

CLP wrote:the story selections are really wishy-washy at the drabblecast.
some are amazing and blow my mind, others, it blows my mind that they were selected.

This is true of all serialized media. No batter hits home run every time, no exceptions. Even the very best shows have their share of dull episodes.

You judge a a show by the average episode, and the average episode here is exceptionally good, even though every listener (myself included) can point back at specific episodes they disliked.

This episode was fairly dull. I appreciated the weirdness of the first one, but it seemed like it should have gone somewhere with it. It would have been much better, IMO, as a longer story. The premised has a lot of weird potential, but it's almost entirely unused. A scene in the market seems necessary. The second story I just didn't get. It seemed like the dude was trippin'.

hm.

Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 6:14 pm

by StalinSays

I was the opposite side of the coin. The first story was a shoulder shrug, time to move on affair. But then I really enjoyed the second. Seems like daddy was a lady's man, womanizer, putting the kid in the middle. It's a thin metaphor, but it plays out well, with some interesting visuals. It wasn't squids or sharks - DC keeps you guessing.

Posted: Mon Jun 29, 2009 9:29 pm

by Phenopath

I guess I like dull stories. The fishing tale was my favourite; father and son out fishing for a mummy (to sell at the market). I have to admit I was a bit too involved in a complex overtaking maneuver to fully appreciate the dead dog story, but I liked the chilled out vibe.

The drabble was a nice complement to the both.

Posted: Wed Jul 01, 2009 7:30 pm

by CLP

q

Posted: Mon Jul 06, 2009 3:45 pm

by treeman

These were nice, not outstanding. The Fishermen was an intriguing start but I agree that this could and should have been developed into a longer story.
The Sandwich shop was fairly moving actually. We don't have to know why the boy could understand the coyote, it's a fantasy story.